No abstract available.
Birth Certificates* ; Parturition*

OBJECTIVE: Multiple birth implicates the important health and social problems such as preterm birth, low birth weight, high perinatal mortality, and increased medical cost. This study was performed to investigate the multiple birth rate in Korea using the birth certificate data. METHODS: Retrospective review and analysis of data from Korean birth certificate in 1996. RESULTS: Multiple birth rate was 1.4% of total births(683,043 cases). Mean birth weight was 3.29+/-0.47kg for singleton birth and 2.57+/-0.58kg for multiple birth. Mean gestational age was 39.56+/-1.32 weeks for singleton birth and 37.47+/-2.41 weeks for multiple birth. Rate of low birth weight (< 2.5kg) was 14 times higher for multiple birth compared with that of singleton birth, and rate of preterm birth(< 37 weeks) was 10 times higher. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between multiple birth and selected variables including maternal age, job and birth order. As the odds ratio(OR) was 2.47(95% CI: 2.34 - 2.59, p<0.001) for the second birth, and 5.31(95% CI: 4.99 - 5.65, p<0.001) for the third and over birth compared with the first birth, there was a significant correlation between multiple birth and birth order. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the birth certificate data in 1996, the incidence of twin and higher order multiple birth was 1.7%, and a significant correlation between multiple birth and birth order was revealed. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the etiology and prognosis of multiple birth and the developmental problems from birth to adolescence.
Adolescent ; Birth Certificates* ; Birth Order ; Birth Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age ; Multiple Birth Offspring* ; Parturition* ; Perinatal Mortality ; Pregnancy ; Premature Birth ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Social Problems ; Twins

Drug-eluting stents (DES) have reduced the rate of repeated revascularization of target lesions. For this reason, DES are considered to be superior to bare-metal stents in reducing the restenosis rate. However, some problems have been reported after implantation of DES. One of them, stent thrombosis, has arisen as a fatal complication. Dual antiplatelet therapy is recommended for at least 12 months after implantation of DES to prevent stent thrombosis. Here, we report a case of very late stent thrombosis that occurred 1 week after discontinuation of clopidogrel at 5 years (1832 days) after implantation of a sirolimus-eluting stent.
Drug-Eluting Stents ; Myocardial Infarction ; Stents ; Thrombosis ; Ticlopidine

Recently, percutaneous coronary intervention has been the treatment of choice in most acute myocardial infarction cases. Although the results of percutaneous coronary interventions have ben good, the no-reflow phenomenon and distal embolization of intracoronary thrombus are still major problems even after successful interventions. In this article, we will briefly review the deleterious effects of no-reflow and distal embolization of intracoronary thrombus during percutaneous coronary interventions. The current trials focused on the prevention and treatment of the no-reflow phenomenon and intracoronary thrombus.
Myocardial Infarction ; No-Reflow Phenomenon ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Thrombosis

Very late stent thrombosis (VLST) after implantation of drug-eluting stent is rare, but very fatal complication after percutaneous coronary intervention. We report a case of VLST of a sirolimus-eluting Cypher(TM) stent (Cordis, Johnson and Johnson) presenting as acute ST elevation myocardial infarction at 26 months after deployment with continued combined dual antiplatelet medication of aspirin and clopidogrel. The patient did not show anti-platelet resistance.
Aged ; Angina Pectoris/*therapy ; Aspirin/*therapeutic use ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Thrombosis/drug therapy/*etiology/radiography ; Drug Resistance ; Drug-Eluting Stents/*adverse effects ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Ticlopidine/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Time Factors

Statins have been known to significantly reduce cardiovascular events in patients with cardiovascular disease. This review was undertaken to examine the current evidence for the effect of statins in patients with coronary artery disease. Further research is needed to clarify questions concerning the optimal timing, dosage, and type of statin therapy as well as the problems associated with adverse effects.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Myocardial Infarction

No abstract available.
Arteriovenous Malformations*

Background: There are many studies on the vertebral body-to-canal ratio, the so-called Pavlov’s ratio of the cervical spine. However, there are no studies on its relation with age to clarify each bony component’s contribution to the spinal canal formation and its size. The aim of this study was to investigate differences and changes in the vertebral body-to-canal ratio according to age in an asymptomatic population. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 280 asymptomatic individuals. A total of 140 men and 140 women representing each decade of life from the first to the seventh were included in this study. The anteroposterior length of the vertebral body and canal from C3 to C6 was measured on sagittal radiographs to calculate the vertebral body-to-canal ratio. Results: The average Pavlov’s ratio was significantly larger (p < 0.001) in the first decade of life. The average Pavlov’s ratio of the individuals in the first decade of life was 1.09 between C3 and C6 (1.08 at C3, 1.07 at C4, 1.11 at C5, and 1.13 at C6; range, 0.78–1.51). There was no significant difference among the other decades of life. Conclusions We assessed the Pavlov’s ratio of the cervical spine in an asymptomatic population. It is our belief that the spinal canal size is the largest in the first decade of life, and the Pavlov’s ratio becomes almost fixed throughout life after maturity.

PURPOSE: We report a case of rapid progression to proliferative diabetic after generalized edema occurrence in a non proliferative diabetic retinopathy patient. CASE SUMMARY: A 48-year-old man visited our hospital with both eyes visual disturbance which occurred 1 week ago. He was diagnosed with moderate non proliferative diabetic retinopathy 5 months ago and there was no significant interval change 3 weeks ago. Date of visit, diffuse macular edema and neovascularization were observed in both eyes. Accompanying visual disturbance, he had generalized edema and 10 kg of weight gain. We thought it was not common diabetic macular edema, we held ophthalmic treatment such as an intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) injection and requested medical treatment to the department of nephrology. Diagnosed with aggravation of left ventricle heart failure and diabetic nephropathy, he took diuretics and low salt diet for 10 days. After 10 days, his visual acuity improved and macular edema disappeared. Since then, he received intravitreal anti-VEGF injection and panretinal photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy treatment. Nevertheless, he underwent pars plana vitrectomy due to vitreous hemorrhage in right eye. CONCLUSIONS: We experienced a case of sudden diffuse macular edema and progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy associated with generalized edema. We suggest that it is necessary to consider systemic changes in diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic Nephropathies ; Diabetic Retinopathy* ; Diet ; Diuretics ; Edema* ; Endothelial Growth Factors ; Heart Failure ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Light Coagulation ; Macular Edema ; Middle Aged ; Nephrology ; Visual Acuity ; Vitrectomy ; Vitreous Hemorrhage ; Weight Gain

PURPOSE: Takayasu's arteritis generally involves the aorta and its main branch. Various ocular manifestations associated with Takayasu's arteritis have been reported, but branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) is very rare. We report a case of BRAO associated with Takayasu's arteritis. CASE SUMMARY: 53-year-old female patient visited out emergency room for an inferior visual field defect of the right eye that had presented 2 hours earlier. Visual acuity was 1.0 in both eyes. There were no abnormalities of the anterior segment or pupil reflex. On fundus examination, superior retinal whitening was observed in her right eye. Through ancillary study including optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography, she was diagnosed with BRAO and underwent conservative treatments. She had received previous treatment and had been followed-up for Takayasu's arteritis for 20 years. She complained of general weakness, and body temperature was 38.7℃. On blood analysis, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were increased compared to previous levels. She was medically treated on the assumption of relapse of Takayasu's arteritis. After 3 months, the retinal whitening in her right eye was resolved, but the visual field defect remained similar to that at the initial visit. CONCLUSIONS: We report this rare case of BRAO associated with Takayasu's arteritis, indicating the need to consider an association between the two diseases.
Aorta ; Blood Sedimentation ; Body Temperature ; C-Reactive Protein ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pupil ; Recurrence ; Reflex ; Retinal Artery Occlusion* ; Retinaldehyde ; Takayasu Arteritis* ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Fields